Machine for handling railroad ties or the like



Sept. 19, 1961 H. J. PERAZZOLI 3,000,325

MACHINE FOR HANDLING RAILROAD TIES OR THE LIKE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledFeb. 1, 1960 ATTORNEYS Sept. 19, 1961 H. J. PERAZZOLI 3,000,325

MACHINE FOR HANDLING RAILROAD TIES OR THE LIKE Filed Feb. 1, 1960 5Sheets-Sheet 2 MACHINE FOR HANDLING RAILROAD TIES OR THE LIKE Filed Feb.1, 1960 Sept. 19, 1961 H. J. PERAZZOL! 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORATTORNEYS Sept. 19, 1961 H. J. PERAZZOLI 3,000,325

MACHINE FOR HANDLING RAILROAD TIES OR THE LIKE Filed Feb. 1, 1960 5Sheets-Sheet 4 mvENToR g; ATTORN EYS Sept. 19, 1961 H. J. PERAZZOLIMACHINE FOR HANDLING RAILROAD TIES OR THE LIKE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FiledFeb. 1, 1960 INVENTOR a ATTO NEYS United States Patent 3,000,325 MACHINEFOR HANDLING RAILROAD TIES OR THE LIKE Henry J. Per-azzoli, 3 PlymouthRoad, Gwynedd Valley, Pa. Filed Feb. 1, 1960, Ser. No. 5,790 6 Claims.(Cl. 104-9) This invention relates to a machine for handling elongatedmembers such as railroad ties and is particularly concerned with adevice of this kind which is mounted upon a wheeled vehicle such as arailroad truck or car so that it can be moved from one position toanother along a right of way or other path of travel. The machine isconstructed and arranged so that it can pick up the members which ithandles from a side of the right of way and place them in desiredpositions in relation to the track or remove them from such positionsand discharge them to the side along the path of movement of the truck.The improved machine I have developed is peculiarly adapted to thehandling of railroad ties and has been designed especially for thispurpose, wherefore the present disclosure will be specifically directedto a tie handling machine.

As is well known to those familiar with railroad track work, thepositioning of ties under the rails or their removal therefrom arerelatively time consuming and difficult jobs which are usually performedby a crew of men generally not less than three men where machines areemployed and considerably more where the work is performed entirelymanually.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a machine for settingor removing ties or similar objects whereby, except for whatever ballastwork may be involved, these jobs may be performed by a single man. Aconcomitant object, of course, is to greatly reduce the amount of timeand expense involved in the setting or pulling of railroad ties. Tosummarize, it is the object of my invention to provide a machine whichcan be moved along the track, which can pick up ties scattered at randomalong the right of way and place them in proper position under thetracks and which can withdraw or pull the ties from beneath the tracksand drop them along the right of Way-all of such operations beingpossible with but a single man.

Before proceeding with a detailed description of the present invention,it is desired to note the fact that tie handling machines have beenknown to the art but insofar as I am aware none of them has made itpossible to ehmmate the amount of labor which can be eliminated with myimproved machine. For instance, trucks have been known which move alongthe tracks and which carry tie gripping means located at a point betweenthe two rails of the tracks. However, such gripping means cannot engagethe ties until they are first placed at least partially in positionunder the rails. This preliminary positioning has to be performed byextra men who lift the ties with the usual tie tongs and at leastpartially insert them before the machine can grip them and complete thejob. Other machines have been known which will pick up a tie at the sideof a track but which have no means for driving the tie from the point atwhich it is gripped thus making it necessary to move the tie entirely bythe boom with which such machines have been equipped which type ofoperation is a diflicult maneuver.

The machine of the present invention completely overcomes theselimitations of prior machines as will be seen by reference to theaccompanying drawings, wherein FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic frontelevational view of my improved machine showing the truck which movesalong the rails, the boom which picks up the ties and the ice drivingmeans for forcing the ties under the rails or removing them therefrom;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the tie gripping and drivingmechanism of my improved machinethe adjacent rail of the track, the tieon which it is resting and the tie which is being inserted from left toright being shown in dot and dash lines;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the structure illustrated in FIGURE 2 withthe rail and the tie which is being inserted shown in dot and dashlines;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical section taken approximately as indicated by theline 44 on FIGURE 2, but with certain parts appearing in elevation andwith the tie to be inserted being shown in dot and dash lines as it isgripped by the machine;

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to that of FIGURE 4 but with the tie grippingand driving means shown in open position;

FIGURE 6 is a detailed plan view of the fixed unit of the tie grippingmechanism, the unit being the lower one illustrated in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 7 is a detailed plan view of the movable tie gripping unit whichcooperates with the fixed unit of FIGURE 6. This is the upper unit inFIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 8 is a diagram of the hydraulic power and control means which Iprefer to use with my invention.

By referring to the drawings it will be seen that my machine includes asupporting truck 9 equipped with an axle 10 and flanged wheels 11, thelatter being adapted to ride along the rails 12 of a railroad track, therails being carried by the usual ties 13. A suitable framework 14 ismounted on the car or truck for rotation around a vertical axis 15. Aboom 16 is mounted for upwardly and downwardly swinging movement upon ahorizontal axis 17. Near the outer end of the boom is a hydraulic motor:18 mounted upon an axis 19 by means of which the motor can turn throughan are which, in the device as I have designed it, is approximately 280.The degree of rotation, however, is not important insofar as theinvention is concerned except that it should be sufficient to make itpossible to rotate the gripping unit as may be required to grasp thetie.

The tie gripping and driving unit, indicated as a whole by the referencecharacter 20, is connected to the motor axis 19 by a suitable universaljoint mechanism 21 which latter cooperates in the proper positioning ofthe unit.

The tie gripping and driving unit comprises a pair of opposed framemembers 22 and 23. The frame member 22 will be referred to as the fixedframe member because it is secured to the part 24' of the universaljoint 21 as by bolts 24a. In other words, this frame member 22 is thesupporting frame member and is suspended on the motor axis 19 near theend of the boom 16. The other frame member 23 has relative movementtoward and away from the fixed frame member 22 as indicated to bestadvantage in FIGURES 4 and 5. In order to provide for this relativemovement between the two frame members the fixed frame 22 has a pair ofguide rails 25 projecting laterally therefrom as shown to best advantagein FIGURE 6. It is also provided with a pair of cylindrical guides 26for a purpose which will appear just below. The movable frame member 23has a pair of spaced flanges 27 and 28 adapted to embrace the guiderails 25 of the fixed frame member 22. It also carries a pair of rods 29which are adapted to slide in the cylindrical guides 26. At their outerends the rods 29 carry a crosshead 30 to which is secured an operatingpiston 31 by means of a pin 31a which latter provides flexibility toprevent binding of the parts. This piston 31 fits into a cylinder 32 onthe fixed frame member 22. The cylinder 32 has a flat extension 33 whichis connected at its outer end with a cross mem- 3 her 34 extendingbetween and mounted on a pin 34a secured to the rails 25 as clearlyshown in FIGURE 6. The piston and cylinder device 3132 constitutes amotor device for effecting the relative movement between the frames 22and 23.

The piston and cylinder device 3132 is actuated by hydraulic fluid andwhen the fluid is admitted to. the cylinder at the outside face of thepiston 31, i.e., the face away from the crosshead 30, the piston will bemoved in the cylinder 32 in a direction which brings the movable framemember 23 toward the fixed frame member 22 as shown in FIGURE 4. This isthe position in which the tie is gripped by the gripping members in themanner to be described below. When the fluid is delivered to thecylinder at the opposite side of the piston it will be moved to theright as shown in FIGURE 5, which motion separates the frames 22 and 23thereby opening the tie gripping members as shown in FIGURE 5.

The fixed frame member 22 is provided with a downwardly extending andsomewhat elongated box-like frame portion 22a having a vertical interiorweb 221). Carried in this frame are a pair of spaced chain sprockets 35and 36 around which passes an endless chain 37 (FIG- URE 2). The chainis provided with suitable tie gripping means 38 and 39, the former ofwhich have straight gripper teeth and the latter of which have diamondshaped gripper teeth, as shown to best advantage in the lower portion ofFIGURE 2. I prefer to alternate the two types of teeth as shown in thisview, although neither the particular shape of the teeth nor thealternate arrangement should be considered as limiting the inventionbecause other types of teeth might well be employed. However, I havefound that the design and arrangement of the teeth as shown in FIGURE 2has yielded excellent results.

The right hand chain sprocket 35 as shown in FIGURE 2 is mounted foradjustment by means of the slide members 40 whereas the mounting for thesprocket 46 at the left is fixed. This is for the purpose of adjustingthe chain to take up slack in the event of wear.

The fixed frame member 22 also carries an hydraulic chain operatingmotor 41 which drives the sprocket 36 through the medium of bevel gears42 and 43. The inner run of the chain as seen in FIGURES 4 and isarranged to parallel the sides of the tie and to drivingly grip the samein cooperation with a corresponding structure on the opposite or movableframe member 23, the web 22b acting as a backing member for this run ofthe chain during operation of the device.

The opposing or movable frame member 23 is provided with an exactlysimilar type of tie gripping and driving mechanism as has just beendescribed in connection with the fixed member 22 wherefore it will notbe described in detail except to point out that it has a similardownwardly extending box-like frame portion 44, a similar chain drive45, a similar vertical web 46 and a similar driving motor 47. It mightbe noted, however, that the motors 41 and 47 are arranged in reverserelationship on the two frame members 22 and 23. reversing the motors itis possible to make the over-all dimension of the machine somewhatsmaller than it would be were the two motors placed in the samedirection.

By referring particularly to FIGURES 2 and 5, it will be seen that eachof the lower frame members 22a and 44 carry at the bottom alongitudinally extending rib 48. These serve the purpose of pushing theballast away so as to develop a firm seat for the unit at the side ofthe rail.

I also wish to call attention to certain structure which I have providedas an aid in absorbing the thrust which is created when a tie is drivenby my machine. For instance, in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 it will be seen thatthere are two hook members 49 and 50 which are respecnively supported byarms 49a and 50a, the former of By so v 4. which extends toward the railfrom the movable unit and the latter from the fixed unit. These hookmembers swing upon pivot pins 51 and 52 and are provided with upwardextensions 53 and 54 which are adapted to abut against cooperating stopmembers 55 and 56. Each hook member has a supplemental aperture 57 bymeans of which it can also be mounted upon its cooperating pivot pin asseen in FIGURE 2. This makes it possible to mount the hook so as tocooperate with rails of difierent height. As shown in FIGURE 2, the hookfits under the head of the rail so that when the tie is being drivenhome to its position under the rails the reaction is in part at leastabsorbed by the rail itself acting through the hook. Of course, it willbe understood that the boom also acts as a fixed point during the timethat the tie is being driven by the gripping means. Nevertheless, thehook grip provided by the structure just described is of considerableimportance in obtaining rigidity and satisfactory operation.

It should also be noted that, when placing the tie gripping and drivingunit in its proper position beside the rails, the hooks 49 and 50 passover the top of the rail and fall down on the other side after the finalposition has been reached.

It should also be noticed in connection with the hooks 49 and 50 thattheir supporting frames 49a and 50a are made so that they can bedetached and switched to the opposite side of the machine in case it isdesired to work on the other side of the track from that shown in FIG-URES 2 and 3. For this purpose an upstanding plate 58 is provided at theopposite end of the fixed unit to which the hook 49 may be secured. Atthe same time the hook 50 is moved to the oppoiste end of the top brace59. However, this detail could be varied in any desired manner andshould not be considered as a limiting feature.

FIGURE 8 illustrates in diagrammatic form a suitable hydraulic fluidsupply and control mechanism for the swiveling motor 18, the chaindriving motors 41 and 47 and the frame moving or gripping motor 31-32.Hydraulic fluid is circulated by a pump 60 which delivers the fluid tothe motor 18 under the control of the valve 61, to the motors 41 and 47under the control of the valve 62 and to the motor 3132 under thecontrol of the valve 63. Drain lines from the motors 41 and- 47 deliverto a tank 64. The valve 61 may be a foot operated valve while the valves62 and 63 are preferably hand operated, but some other arrangement ofthe valves can be adopted if desired. The point of principal importancein connection with the fluid control mechanism is that the two motors 41and 47 which drive the chains should be operated simultaneously so thatthe tie is driven into position by power applied simultaneously to itsopposite sides. The drain tank 64 is provided because, in the type ofhydraulic motors employed for driving the chains, some leakage ofpressure fluid takes place inside of the motors and this should bedrained away to prevent build-up of pressure.

Summary of Operation While the operation is believed to be obvious fromthe description of the machine it might be helpful to point out that indoing a tie replacement job it is customary to drop the new ties atrandom along the right of way. This, of course, will result in the tiestaking various angular positions with relation to the track and may alsoinvolve tipping of the tie up or down an adjoining bank. A tie handlingmachine therefore must be cauble of reaching out and grasping a tieregardless of its random position along the track. This is easilyaccomplished by my improved machine. The car or truck is moved along therails to the desired position, whereupon the boom 16 is lowered in orderto bring the tie gripping and driving means 20 over the end of a tie. Ifthe gripping and driving means is not in the proper angular relation tothe tie it can be rotated by the motor 18 until the opposing runs of thedrive chains are parallel with the tie sides, whereupon the boom can bestill further lowered to the point where the gripping and driving unitrests upon the ground. When this happens the universal joint 21 permitsthe unit to accommodate itself to the tilt of the tie on the ground. Thetie gripping motor 31-32 is then operated to bring the opposing runs ofthe two chains into gripping contact with opposite sides of the tie,following which the boom and/ or the truck are moved to bring the end ofthe tie in line with the position into which it is to be placed and thenthe chain motors 41 and 47 are actuated to move the tie under the railsinto the position desired.

It should also be pointed out that the tie driving chains areconstructed and arranged so that each presents a run toward the otherwhich runs are parallel and therefore adapted to engage the oppositeparallel sides of a tie. By gripping the tie at one end and applyingdriving power on both sides, it is possible relatively easily to forcethe tie under the rails to the position desired.

During the operation of placing ties under the rails the hooks 49 and50, of course, play their part by providing a reaction point on therails in the manner already described.

It is believed to be obvious from all of the foregoing that the machinecan also be used to withdraw ties from under the rails and drop them atrandon along the right of way. This, of course, involves a reversal ofmotion in the chain driving mechanism, but I have provided for this byemploying motors 41 and 47 which are reversible.

In conclusion, I should like to point out that the tie gripping anddriving unit which I have disclosed constitutes in effect a pair of jawswhich are relatively movable toward and away .fiom each other, whichjaws have parallel driving faces in the shape of endless chains or thelike which chains are adapted to grip and drive the tie in a directionlongitudinally of its axis. The frames which carry the chains and themotors for effecting the relative movement between the frames as well asfor driving the endless chains are all constructed and arranged so as toconstitute a tie gripping and driving unit which can be hung from theend of a boom in the manner described. It should also be understood inconnection with the chain drives that it is not essential to employchains as some other type of endless conveyor-like mechanism might wellbe employed. Indeed, it is quite possible to employ other opposingdriving mechanism which is capable of applying power to both sides ofthe tie, although I prefer the endless chain equipment illustrated anddescribed in this application.

I claim:

1. In a machine for handling railroad ties or the like a tie grippingunit comprising in combination a pair of opposed frame membersinterconnected for relative movement toward and away from each other,motor means carried by the unit for eifecting said movement, an endlesstieengaging and driving chain on each frame member, means mounting eachof said chains on its frame member to present a run which faces andparallels a run on the other,

a backing member behind each of said parallel chain runs whereby saidruns are held in driving contact with the tie, and motor means carriedby the unit including means connecting the motor to the chains forsimultaneously driving the chains with the parallel runs moving in thesame direction, all of said parts being constructed and arranged so thatthe parallel chain runs grip a tie on opposing sides whereby to move thetie longitudinally of its axis.

2. A machine according to claim 1 wherein a frame member is providedwith a hook pivoted to svn'ng upwardly to pass over a rail when themachine is placed in operating position and to swing downwardly toengage the rail and act as a reaction point when the tie is being movedas described.

3. A machine according to claim 1 wherein the motor means for moving theframes toward and away from each other includes a hydraulic cylinder onone frame and a cooperating piston on the other.

4. A machine according to claim 1 wherein the motor means for moving theframes toward and away from each other includes a hydraulic cylinder onone frame and a cooperating piston on the other and, further, whereineach chain driving means includes a hydraulic driving motor togetherwith hydraulic fluid supply means therefor.

5. A machine according to claim 1 wherein each frame is provided at thebottom with a ballast parting rib paralleling the tie driving chain.

6. A machine for handling railroad ties comprising in combination, a caradapted to ride the rails, an upwardly and downwardly swinging boommounted on the car for rotation around a vertical axis, a tie grippingunit having a universal mounting on the end of the boom, a pair ofendless tie engaging and driving chains, means mounting said chains onthe gripping unit with a run of each chain arranged to oppose andparallel a run in the other, said chain mounting means including meansfor moving said opposing chain runs toward and away from each otherwhereby to grip and release opposite longitudinal sides of a tie, motormeans on the unit drivingly connected to said chain mounting means toeffect said movement, a backing member behind each of said parallelchain runs whereby said runs are held in driving contact with the tie,and further motor means carried by the unit for simultaneously drivingsaid endless chains with the parallel runs moving in the same directionwhereby to move a tie longitudinally of its axis.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,546,621 Churchia et a1. July 21, 1925 2,069,770 Neal Feb. 9, 19372,757,037 Troyer July 31, 1956 2,828,699 Fox Apr. 1, 1958 2,903,294Shook Sept. 8, 1959 OTHER REFERENCES Railway Track and Structures, page8, October 1958.

